Grey Goose is a brand of

vodka Vodka ( ; is a clear distilled beverage, distilled alcoholic beverage. Its varieties originated in Poland and Russia. Vodka is composed mainly of water and ethanol but sometimes with traces of impurities and flavourings. Traditionally, it is ...

produced in France. It was created in the 90s by American businessman

Sidney Frank Sidney E. Frank (October 2, 1919 – January 10, 2006) was an American businessman and philanthropist. He became a billionaire through his promotion of Grey Goose vodka and Jägermeister. Early life, family, education Frank was born to a Jewish ...

, who sold it to the multinational company

Bacardi Bacardi Limited ( , , ) is the largest privately held, family-owned spirits company in the world. Originally known for its Bacardí brand of white rum, it now has a portfolio of more than 200 brands and labels. Founded in Cuba in 1862 by Facund ...

in 2004. The ''Maître de Chai'' for Grey Goose is François Thibault, who developed the original recipe for the vodka in

Cognac, France Cognac (; Saintongese dialect, Saintongese: ''Cougnat''; ) is a communes of France, commune in the Charente departments of France, department, southwestern France. Administratively, the commune of Cognac is a subprefectures in France, subprefec ...

Company history

Grey Goose was created by Sidney Frank Importing Co (SFIC).

, founder/CEO of the company, developed the idea in the summer of 1997. SFIC partnered with cognac producer François Thibault (a French ''Maître de Chai'', or, Cellar Master) in France to transition his skills from cognac to vodka production. The company selected France due to the country's culinary history and it was to differentiate itself from other vodkas produced in Eastern Europe. The company also developed its distinctive smoked glass bottle, featuring French geese in flight and delivered its product in wooden crates similar to wine. In 1998, the Beverage Testing Institute reviewed Grey Goose Vodka, which was the highest-scoring brand with a 96. In 2001, Grey Goose released its first flavor, L'Orange, followed by Le Citron in 2002. The company was eventually sold by Sidney Frank to

for a reported US$2.2 billion in 2004. That year, Grey Goose was the best-selling premium brand vodka in the United States, selling more than 1.5 million cases that year. In 2018, Grey Goose partnered with

Jamie Foxx Eric Marlon Bishop (born December 13, 1967), known professionally as Jamie Foxx, is an American actor, comedian, and singer. Known for his work in both the screen and music industries, his accolades include an Academy Award, a Grammy Award ...

for a nine-part online series called ''Off Script''. It is the official vodka of the US Open tennis tournament, and is the key ingredient in the " honey deuce," the signature drink of the tournament.

Product description

The wheat used in the creation of Grey Goose vodka is grown in

Picardy Picardy (; Picard language, Picard and , , ) is a historical and cultural territory and a former regions of France, administrative region located in northern France. The first mentions of this province date back to the Middle Ages: it gained it ...

, France. It is distilled in the Northeast of Paris, then sent to

. Once received, the distillate is blended with a mix of spring and bottled water. Grey Goose uses soft

winter wheat Winter wheat (usually ''Common wheat, Triticum aestivum'') are strains of wheat that are planted in the autumn to germinate and develop into young plants that remain in the vegetative phase during the winter and resume growth in early spring. C ...

, sown in October and harvested in August, which provides it with four additional months of growth in comparison to summer wheat. Even though Grey Goose distills its vodka from wheat, it is gluten-free. The distillation process removes the gluten from the final product. During the distilling process, Grey Goose uses enzymes to break down carbohydrates into fermentable sugars. The fermentation takes place continuously over six cascading tanks, producing a 20-proof beer. The wash is then distilled into spirits using a five-step process. The water used in the vodka comes from a natural spring 150 meters (500 feet) below the blending facility in Cognac, which is lined with limestone, providing calcium-rich spring water. That water is then filtered to remove impurities. After the filtration, the vodka is bottled in a plant. Grey Goose vodka is bottled with a replaceable cork rather than a screw-top cap.

References

External links

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New York Times: A Humble Old Label Ices Its Rivals
January 26, 2005. (Relevant to topic on super-premium vodka market.) {{DEFAULTSORT:Grey Goose (Vodka) Bacardi brands French vodkas French brands French companies established in 1997 Vodka brands he:וודקה#מותגי וודקה נודעים